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The stories in Voyages - Sidetracked Beyond may involve mountains, deserts, water, polar regions, cultural discoveries, personal growth or a combination of the above, but the common thread is that these journeys are meaningful, and ambitious in scope.
They say it’s the journey rather than the destination that truly counts. In Voyages - Sidetracked Beyond, we look at some of the best and longest adventures to test the human spirit. From running 1,000km across a mountain range to bikepacking across a continent, the longest journeys have the power to change us in ways that we can scarcely imagine at the start.
We spoke to Sidetracked's Chief Editor, Designer and Producer, John Summerton, about the book, adventure, and what's next.
The chapters within Voyages consist of a wide variety of high-quality stories from around the world, taking in many different methods of travel and adventure. How was the selection process determined and what were you looking for when compiling these 21 accounts?
To curate Voyages, we went through the archives of 28 issues of Sidetracked magazine to select our favourite stories of long-distance, human-powered travel around the world. In addition to just picking the best stories, we also wanted a wide array of voices, locations, and methods of journeying.
Alongside some of our best stories that we’ve featured in the magazine, we also commissioned brand new stories from some of our favourite contributors. What makes a great story is in the writer’s unique voice and the purpose behind their journey. It’s an incredible skill to let the reader inside the author’s mind and take them on the voyage with you.
Are there any particular adventures in the book that personally stand out for you? Any that you'd love to undertake yourself?
In ‘Colours in the Cold’, Bertrand Carlier spent a winter in the beautiful, isolated region of the Zanskar mountains, where monasteries are completely cut off from the outside world and can only be accessed on foot, via a frozen river that people from these small villages have to traverse for days in the intense cold in order to get to the bigger nearby towns.
Bertrand undertook a long voyage here by ski and foot, where his main goal was simply to step into the community there and discover life in the Zanskar. His openness to the experience really shines through in his incredible photography, and it’s apparent that he was really changed by his journey there – which is the best outcome from travelling in our opinion.
For me the stories that resonate most are those involving personal growth and human interaction. The extremes (highest, lowest, furthest) are fascinating and clearly testing and character-building but my preference would be to undertake voyages of human, natural and cultural discovery.
What advice would you give someone who is thinking about taking on a new adventure for the first time?
First and foremost, to go for it. Decorate your life with experiences and journeys that will grow you as a person and facilitate your connection to this wonderful shared planet we live on together.
In addition, find a purpose in your journey. While adventure for adventure’s sake will always be worthwhile, the best journeys are those where there is an inner purpose. It doesn’t matter if the literal path you take is one that many travellers have trod before you - your journey will be unique to you because you have your own personal mission.
How was working with gestalten? Can you tell us a bit about the process of putting together a book as opposed to a magazine?
We are a small team of creatives who have been creating Sidetracked issues for ten years, so letting another business partner into our process was a new challenge that forced us to shake things up and look at our work from a different perspective.
The world of books is surprisingly different from the world of magazines, and we were eager for this partnership to be one where we could learn about that world. In a sense, we went on a creative voyage together :).
You recently held the Elements Festival in Cornwall, England, to celebrate your 10th anniversary and 30th issue. Can you tell us a bit more about that, and do you anticipate more events like this in the future?
As a creative business, we are always adapting and trying new things, and this year that led us to closing our laptops, getting out there and putting on a festival!
We have been running a UK live tour for three years now, and decided we wanted a full, immersive Sidetracked experience where we could take our guests to somewhere really special where they could explore, connect, and create together in the community.
We had fun adventure activities from surfing to trail running to climbing, and also creative workshops like film-making, art lessons, bushcraft and wild cooking. We even had live music and barn dancing. It was such an incredible experience and we loved getting to spend time – in real life! – with our community.
Plans for next year are already underway…
From running 1,000km across a mountain range to bikepacking across a continent, the longest journeys have the power to change us in ways that we can scarcely imagine at the start. Voyages – Sidetracked Beyond will take us around the world through a series of long-distance, human-powered journeys that inspire. Order Voyages now.
45.00 €
